Orpheus -- Dionysus -- Eros -- Mephistopheles -- Dagon -- Classical opera -- Mozart -- Romantic opera -- Beethoven and political opera -- Berlioz and historical opera -- Verdi -- Wagner -- Realism and Puccini -- Wagnerism and Strauss -- Past and present -- Phantoms of the opera -- The Met and the metropolis -- Opera in a garden -- New theaters -- Drama against music -- After the revolution, and before -- Beating time -- A black goddess -- Archetypes -- The ecstasy and agony of song